Everyday Quantum Reality

Most people have heard about quantum physics and its remarkable, well-nigh bizarre claims. And most people would assume that quantum reality describes a world quite different from ours. In this book, David A. Grandy shows that one can find quantum puzzles, or variations thereof, in the backyard of everyday experience.

The Universe in the Rearview Mirror: How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality

A physicist speeds across space, time, and everything in between showing that our elegant universe from the Higgs boson to antimatter to the most massive group of galaxies is shaped by hidden symmetries that have driven all our recent discoveries about the universe and all the ones to come. Why is the sky dark at night? Is it possible to build a shrink-ray gun? If there is antimatter, can there be antipeople? Why are past, present, and future our only options? Are time and space like a butterfly's wings? No one but Dave Goldberg, the coolest nerd physicist on the planet, could give a hyper-drive tour of the universe like this one.

The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces

Our understanding of nature's deepest reality has changed radically, but almost without our noticing, over the past 25 years. Transcending the clash of older ideas about matter and space, acclaimed physicist Frank Wilczek explains a remarkable new discovery: matter is built from almost weightless units, and pure energy is the ultimate source of mass. He calls it "The Lightness of Being." Space is no mere container, empty and passive. It is a dynamic Grid, modern ether, and its spontaneous activity creates and destroys particles.

Decoding Reality: The Universe as Quantum Information

For a physicist, all the world is information. The universe and its workings are the ebb and flow of information. We are all transient patterns of information, passing on the recipe for our basic forms to future generations using a four-letter digital code called DNA. In this engaging and mind-stretching account, Vlatko Vedral considers some of the deepest questions about the universe and considers the implications of interpreting it in terms of information.

Gary says:"Excellent on all counts."

Publisher's Summary

Most people have heard about quantum physics and its remarkable, well-nigh bizarre claims. And most people would assume that quantum reality describes a world quite different from ours. In this book, David A. Grandy shows that one can find quantum puzzles, or variations thereof, in the backyard of everyday experience. What disappears in transferring quantum theory to the everyday is the theory's mathematical formalism, but that need not imply a loss of analytic rigor. If quantum reality is truly as elemental and ubiquitous as many thinkers suggest, then alternative or complementary perspectives ought to be possible, and with the proliferation of such perspectives, a more fully rounded understanding of quantum reality -- and everyday reality -- might emerge. Everyday Quantum Reality is a step in that direction.

What the Critics Say

"Far from being completely counterintuitive and beyond our experience, the findings of quantum physics have many analogs in everyday life, which we have simply not seen because of the grip of the classical worldview on our thinking. . . . Everyday Quantum Reality makes an important and original argument." (Alexander Wendt, author of Social Theory of International Politics)

This was not at all what I had expected. I expected a review of everyday phenomena that exhibited some aspect of quantum behavior or good analogies of for quantum ideas. Instead this was a murky connection of various philosophies with quantum theory. Ideas like everyday experience seems kind of random, just like quantum randomness, or our internal thought processes feels kind of discreet and kind of continuous, just like quantum wave-particle duality. If this was the first of this silly type of book, it would be at least amusing, but after decades of such stuff it is merely hollow. I found the description of the book deceptive.

When I take the hatchet to a book I’m usually happy if others offer a second opinion. After all, writing books is hard work and books are usually harmless artifacts at worst. In this instance I find myself in strong disagreement with the previous reviewer, though I can appreciate what he’s saying. The title is indeed misleading, and some parts of the book can strike you at first as pseudoscientific mumbling. But that is a mistaken assessment. This is not a book of science or explanation of quantum theory. It is best described as a series of philosophical essays on aspects of quantum theory with a distinctly phenomenological slant. The chief influence is the French existentialist Merleau-Ponty, along with some (largely unacknowledged) points from Husserl on music. This sounds unfathomable, but it is fairly straightforward. The best sections of the book explore the paradoxes of light and visibility, Goethe’s theory of color, and a very interesting, to me, discussion of the paradoxes entailed in geometric concepts of points and lines. It is true that the author can sound a tad cosmic here and there as he dwells on duality and the ineffable. At times he sounds like he is taking Western Science and Cold Cartesians to task. But many card-carrying quantum physicists and cosmologists are not far behind him in that respect. At its best the book can be (the pun seems inevitable) an illuminating discourse on the mysterious nature of light. I enjoyed most of it and have listened to a few sections over again with intellectual pleasure. It isn’t for everyone, as the other reviewer makes clear. But for those with a speculative bent, I recommend it as an interesting accompaniment to one of the standard audiobooks on quantum theory. The reading is easy on the ears, rather pleasantly quiet and meditative.

The whole book is a sequence of clouded arguments or author's personal opinion. He almost says that what's going on in your mind can change quantum-level reality, but manages to keep the argument obfuscated. One can never say that they read a book and learned nothing; it is not the case but David Grandy has been suspended from my reading list for the next 3 years and Indiana University Press is going to the corner.

This book is a philosopher's take on quantum physics. The author starts out by arguing that though quantum physics concepts are observed on micro level and are usually considered counter intuitive to our every day experience many analogs to quantum physics phenomena can be found in everyday life. He then proceeds to peer on the everyday life experience through the philosophical microscope. And sure enough, he finds lots of examples of quantum processes - uncertainty, non-locality etc, especially that he doesn't overburden his search with too much of logical thinking.
So where is the big surprise? On microscopic philosophical level every day experience resembles microscopic quantum processes. On microscopic philosophical level you can see anything you are looking for.
In no way this book can be considered an introduction to quantum physics unless you want to get acquainted with quantum physics without actually understanding anything about it. If you are looking for an introduction, "Quantum Physics Cannot Hurt You" is an excellent book.
This book is also not the one that will improve your understanding of the quantum physics's concepts you are already familiar is. The only time this book was interesting was when the author quoted people like Niels Bohr or Carl Yung.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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